Plans

“So what have you been practicing?” Jeren asked once he was finished.

“Hm? Oh, I've been trying to combine techniques from some different cultures into my own fighting style.”

“Well, you’re certainly got the combining part down. And I doubt any future opponents of yours would expect an attack from that fancy sword to be followed by a knockout punch.” Jeren laughed. “Although I wonder, just who exactly do you expect to be fighting?”

Janen shrugged, casually fiddling with her weapon. “Anyone who threatens my home or family, I suppose.”

“Somehow I don’t believe you plan on spending the rest of your life looking after Jillen and me.”

“As heir to the throne, my home will be all of Eckba, and any citizens of this land become my responsibility.” Jeren jumped slightly as his sister’s words rang about the training room, and he was startled to see the look of steely determination in her eyes.

“That’s good, I think, but how about in the mean time you come have dinner with your relatives?” He asked after a few moments of silence. Janen arched an eyebrow at him, but then smiled and set down her sword.

“Agreed.” She said, and Jeren clapped her on the shoulder.

“Good, because I’m starving, and Father won’t start until you get there.”

Well, I think I jinxed myself. I said before I thought I might actually win NaNoWriMo this year, but I've barely done any writing at all in the last week. The reason? School. And working on other projects. I have a habit of jumping around from one project to another and back again within a matter of days. Granted, I was doing really well at first, just concentrating on the Royal Trio of Eckba, but now I've shifted over to my superhero comicbook series again.
Ah well, there's always next year. And for the next entry, I'll probably either type up the next step in Aylon Wildseeker's tale, or actually tell you a bit about the Jr. Team.
-Triscribe

Diplomatic Skills

I love this transition, just for the ironic timing:

"Sometimes I wish I could make people see that I only want what’s best for Eckba, and I know that means following the line of succession.”

“Then, you do support your sister as the heir to the throne?” Tessa questioned.

“Of course!" Jillen exclaimed. "It’s a hard job, one that neither me nor my brother want. Besides, Janen’s been preparing to do it all her life, and I think she’ll do a good job. Got all the diplomatic skills and everything.”

Janen started with a kick to her opponent’s head. Pivoting on her right foot, still firmly planted on the ground, she swung her sword in a tight curve, creating a long gash in the chestplate. When both feet were back down, Janen finished the attack with a right-handed direct jab that knocked the stuffed dummy off of the stand and sent it flying across the training room.

Taking a deep breath, the girl returned to a normal stance and bowed from the waist to her vanquished opponent.

“Let me guess - the dummy insulted your training habits.” Jeren said, standing by the doorway he’d emerged from just in time to see this last combination of attacks.

“Something like that.” Janen growled, still remembering Syl’s disrespectful comments from earlier that afternoon.

In most situations, it would be said that Janen has anger-management issues. But taking out your frustrations on a practice dummy is better than attacking the living servants, no matter how aggravating they are.
-Triscribe

Broom Guard

“Princess Janen! Princess Jillen!” Grumbling under her breath, Janen paused on the ramp that descended from the castle gate to the city proper. Her sister stopped as well, but without the muttered curses. Racing after them was a young guardsman, his shiny armor jostling and bouncing as he tried to pour on speed without losing his balance.

Catching up to the girls, the gasping guard slid to a stop, red-faced and with sweat dripping from his face. It took a minute for him to get his breath back.

“Please, or rather, if it pleases you, princesses, I’ve been, instructed, to protect you, until the rest, of the, troop, arrives.” He managed to gasp out.

“We don’t-”

“That’s very kind of you, guardsman.” Jillen jumped in, cutting off her sister’s annoyed response. “But, perhaps you could protect us better with a real weapon.” The guard was confused until Jillen gestured to the broom stuck through his belt.

“Oh gods!” He yelped. “I must have grabbed this instead of my sword!”

“Why don’t you run back to castle to get it.” Jillen suggested. “Don’t worry, we’ll wait here for you.” Looking from her sweet expression to the broom and back, the guardsman nodded vigorously.

“Right. You’re right, I should.” He started to turn but paused. “And you really will wait?”

“Of course! Now hurry, you don’t want to take too long.” He took off back up the ramp, and Janen eyed her sister.

“We aren't really going to wait, are we?” She asked.

“Only for a few seconds.”

Doesn't this craftiness just bring a smile to your face?
-Triscribe

Musing time: Villains

/Cough (wheeze) Ah-ah-AH-CHOO!
No, wait, that was yesterday. And the day before. But I'm feeling better now, honest.

So, NaNoWriMo has been going well for me, almost to 20,000 words so far. That is a lot better than how I was doing at this point during the past two events I participated in. I might actually win this year, knock on wood. Anyone else out there writing a novel this November?
Well, of course there are, but I doubt that very many (or any at all) read this blog.
In between writing the story of the Royal Trio, I've been doing some character designs of villains, in my respective superhero literary projects. What do you think of these ideas:
Serene Siren
-Wields a mystical horn that can entrance those whom it is pointed and blow at. The greater the ignorance of the person, the longer they stay under Siren's control.
-Has a teenage son, who's a member of the Unlucky 13 super-villain team (just starting up), but is not counted on the list of great mothers. Or good mothers. Heck, even semi-decent mothers.
Dreadlight
-When enraged, he gains super-strength, invulnerability, and an eerie crimson glow.
-Current boyfriend/minion of the Serene Siren.
-Appears dimwitted, but is surprisingly intelligent.
Miss Moffat
-Poison-tipped claws, red eyes, and spider-like agility.
-Originally one of those cutesy villains who pulled heists with a spider theme more to get the attention of the press, now a deranged terrorist who's convinced everyone needs to learn what the true meaning of fear is.
Oozer
-Victim of a tragic accident that left his body a gelatinous, green mass barely held together by miniature force-shield generators in his clothes.
-High tech weapons smuggled and seller.

These would be the one or two time opponents for my Jr. Team agents. I still need to work on the Unlucky 13 and the big bad of that story, shadowy industrialist Belk A. Wren, or Blackren.
But that's a good start.

Introducing: The Royal Trio of Eckba

"I’ve been able to spend this past year going from one charming place to another, just doing the things I wanted to, instead of being put through one form of studying after another at home.”

“Did you actually learn anything?” Janen asked with a drawn out sigh, but her eyes twinkled with humor.

“Of course I did. The finer points of perusing a library, tracking animals in the field, and managing to hit the things I aim at with my bow.” Jeren sniffed.

“That’s good to know, considering how often you used to almost turn random servants into pincushions when you practiced in the castle courtyard.” Jillen teased.

“Believe it or not, I figured out the secret for how to avoid that.” Jeren said with a serious expression on his face.

“Oh?”

“Take my practice outside the courtyard.” The three of them shared a laugh again.

Meet Janen, Jillen, and Jeren, the Royal Trio of Eckba. They are the three children of King Jorgen, and as my novel opens, are just returning after a year abroad. The oldest and heir to the throne, Janen, sought out great warriors and leaders to learn from. She's constantly decked out in armor, carries a fearsome-looking sword, and generally gets more stress from dealing with her younger siblings than preparing to rule a country.
Jillen was born with magic in her veins, and consequentially only has her sister and brother as friends. She's spent the last year travelling all over the world to find great magicians of all types to learn from. Her power has grown to mastery level, yet somehow, she still manages to set things on fire when startled.
The youngest, Jeren, didn't do very much in his year abroad, mainly because of the decision that he wants nothing to do with politics in the future. He'd like nothing more than to move to a quiet village in the countryside, and spend his days reading, hunting and helping out the residents of the nearby settlements.

Unfortunately for these three, who get along very well and respect each other's choices in life, most people in the country would prefer to see them fight for the throne.
I'm looking forward to see how they deal with that. /Evil grin
Happy NaNoWriMo!
-Triscribe